Finding Serenity and Sanity with Leslie Raddatz

05Sep

In FLASHBACKS in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Surviving the Flood–a healing and inspiring memoir, Leslie Raddatz has written a book vital to the medical community and medical schools, to students of psychology, psychiatry and social work as well as to fellow victims of abuse and military veterans suffering with PTSD. For someone who has never experienced abuse, it is a revelation to see what victims endure and suffer through. Many social workers, for instance, don’t understand why women who have been abused by their husbands keep returning because it is not logical, but Leslie explains how the victim feels along with what is happening inside her mind–the flashbacks that bring the past into the present and make it feel just as dangerous as it did originally. Personally I can’t imagine having such things replayed over and over again in my mind. Leslie’s courage to take back her life and her renewed faith in God combines to rebuild her life and her family’s life with healthy positive skills replacing self-destructive behavior. This “road map” back to sanity is a must read for everyone. What’s more, told as a personal story, “Flashbacks…” has far more value than dry scientific text books that fail to empathize with the horror and trauma victims experience. Instead it draws you in and keeps you glued to each episode to find out what happens next. How will she overcome this living hell? It’s not a sob story though. Leslie does not want you to pity her. She wants you to understand what it is like to live in her shoes. It also helps readers see that anyone can suffer from PTSD if placed under “breaking-point” conditions. Kudos, Leslie! In time, Leslie’s journey and advocacy may become the hallmark of fellow suffers’ healing and recovery.

ABOUT LESLIE RADDATZ

Leslie has lived in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, most of her life. She has three children, two daughters and a son, and is happily married to a supportive man. She has had many traumas and abuse in her life but she also has had many mentors who helped her along the way. She started working for a fast food restaurant at 16 years old and today she works for an administrative office as an office manager. When she was 18 years old, she became pregnant while still in high school. She was on welfare and received WIC (Women, Infants, Children), Federal help which gave food stamps and a monthly check. She experienced first-hand how people judge and mistreat others in need of help. She dedicated herself to working hard to earn society’s respect and to beat the odds again. Her education includes four degrees: Office Assistant Degree and Administrative Assistant Associate Degree -specializing in software support from a Technical College. She also graduated from the E-Seed program to help her start up her own business.
She received The Achievement Against the Odds Award in 2002 because three of her instructors nominated her. She also has a Bachelor in Business Administration and Bachelor in Marketing. She accomplished all these degrees while battling with her Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, conversion and somatization disorders while also raising a family, working and going to night classes full-time. She has beaten all the odds that were stacked up against her. She is proud to be a Survivor. Her mission in life now is to help others like her with mental illness and to give them hope, encouragement and inspiration that if she can heal so can they.

BACK COVER BLURB:

Flashbacks in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Surviving the Flood

Childhood for Leslie Raddatz is one continuing nightmare. To survive, she represses her memories until one day, when she is a 34-year-old woman, a wife and mother, her past erupts into the present with a full blown flashback. It is the onset of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and it threatens to destroy what mental and physical endurance she has salvaged through the years. But, her child within cries out for recognition and mercy. More psychological disorders emerge — somatization and conversion. Is she to lose everything and everyone she loves to the madness of her past?

She agrees to relive her childhood under the protection of a professional counselor and comes to understand how her parents’ neglect made her an easy target for predators who sexually, physically and emotionally abuse her over and over again. She graduates from victim to survivor while detailing today’s sophisticated techniques that help her heal: Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), attachment and ego state therapy, Brainspotting, positive imagery, resource building, coping skills, art therapy, task therapy, and counseling.

Once you read Leslie’s story, you can take comfort in the hope she offers and follow her example on your own healing journey.